LEXINGTON, Ky. — It’s been a stormy few days in Kentucky and Sunday night’s storms left a mess of downed trees and powerlines Monday morning.
Lexington, was one of the hardest hit in Sunday's severe storms with over 15,000 people still without power. The city called in extra workers since early Monday morning, hoping to make headway before Fourth of July Celebrations.
City crews working long days Monday, hoping to clear Lexington parks of debris from downed trees. Justin Carey, parks superintendent said he was pleased with crews' progress throughout the city.
“We’re starting with roads, sidewalks, trails so we can get access for the public back into our parks," Carey said.
Carey said Sunday's storms came when parks employees are at their busiest. Crews will be working Fourth of July celebrations Tuesday and special events take place at many parks throughout the summer.
“We’ll recover today, we’ll take a break from recovery operations tomorrow and be downtown to support the 4th of July festivals and making sure everybody has a good time down there and Wednesday morning, we’ll be right back out recovering," Carey said.
Carey says damage is pretty widespread, but Shillito, Jacobson and Landsdowne-Merrick Park were some of the hardest hit, but says parks will be open.
“If we’re actively cleaning a trail or sidewalk or parking lot then yes, we’d like for you to give us a little room. Our goal is to get our public spaces open," Carey said.
No structural damage has been reported at any parks, but some fell victim to uprooted trees.
“We’ll piece those back together as soon as fast as we can, but the goal right now is to get everything safe," Carey said.
Trees and wind also brought down powerlines. Over 60,000 Kentucky Utilities customers were affected, with most in Lexington.
“We had more than 200 wires down in the KU service territory, we had more than 20 utility poles get broken in Lexington," said Daniel Lowry, a Kentucky Utilities spokesperson.
Lowry says the goal is to restore most everyone’s power by Tuesday night at 11 p.m.
“I just hope folks can continue to be patient with us, we’re working as fast and as safely as we can," Lowry said
KU also brought in 80 line technicians from out of state as part of its mutual assistance program.
Residents are asked to stay away from downed powerlines and call 800-981-0600. People are also asked to call 3-1-1 with any tree issues in city parks.
For Kentucky Utilities outage information visit their website.